A new study estimates that Islamic finance will grown between 10 and 20 percent over the next three years.

The study, carried out by accountancy firm BDO, discovered that 53 percent of the 173 financial services executives surveyed fully expect the sector to grow up to 20 percent, while another 22 percent of the people asked think it can grow by as much as a third in the same period.

Up to now the Islamic finance industry has been hindered by a shortage of expertise and a lack of harmonisation of the criteria applied to products, and many companies have stayed away from the Sharia law-governed sector that prohibits investments in any companies involved in areas such as alcohol and tobacco.